{"id":18032,"remedy_name":"Belladonna (HMT)","remedy_type":"Remedy","alternative_names":["Deadly Night Shade"],"miasm":"Tubercular Miasm","temperament":"Neutral","aggravation_time":"Neutral\/Anytime","keynote_indications":"The Belladonna plant grows in dense, shady areas, in most of Europe.\nIt blossoms in July and by Septem ber bears a red-coloured fruit.\nBelladonna is a very poisonous plan t.  Herbalists use it in the\ntreatment of many diseases.   The ointment made out of it is applied to\nwounds.  During its full bloom season, the extract is made out of the\nwhole plant for Homoeopathic use.\n\nBelladonna acts on the circulatory system  as well as on the heart,\nlungs, brain and nervous system.  Like Aconite, a sudden onset of the\ndisease typifies Belladonna, though the disease process is more\nprolonged.  The salient feature of  Belladonna is the inflammation\nespecially affecting the brain, lungs, heart and intestines.\n\nAlthough the acuteness of the symptoms  is like that of Aconite, there\nis no associated fear.  The patient expresses his suffering in the form\nof a groan or remains silent.  He do es not like to talk much except for\ncrying out on having a nightmare du ring sleep.  He usually remains\nquiet with the body covered.  The slightest sound of somebody\nwalking, and light also, intensify his suffering.  His skin is so sensitive\nthat even the touch of a cloth at th e site of pain is unbearable.  The\nafflicted part is red, with a severe burning sensation.  Due to the rise\nof blood pressure, the patient may experience spasms or convulsions.\nJerky movements of the body duri ng sleep, secondary to stomach\nupset or disorder of the nervous  system, are very responsive to\nGrindelia.  In Grindelia, the jer ky movements do not affect the whole\nbody, though may be perceived as the je rking sensation at the heart.\nIn Belladonna, the whole body gets jolted  waking the person up.\nThis happens repeatedly and the patient is unable to sleep.  A single\ndose of Belladonna may relieve the symptoms in no time.\nPhotophobia associated with the diseases of the eye or headache, is\nalso a Belladonna symptom.\n\nWhen Belladonna symptoms and the symptoms of the patient match\nexactly, Belladonna works instantane ously.  In fact, the patient is\namazed with the prompt efficacy of the treatment rendered.\n\nIn Belladonna, the symptoms pertaining to the nervous system  are\nmuch more pronounced than in Acon ite. Belladonna affects the mind\nand may even cause severe frenzy.  When an insane person gets too\nexcited and is ready to kill somebo dy or himself, if he is extremely\nenraged and starts hitting even his carer, then Belladonna should be\nadministered at once.  If the condition becomes chronic, then\nBelladonna will not work. Belladonna is  certainly effective in sudden\ncases of insanity such as in Meningitis and other delirious states, but\nSulphur and Stramonium are more e ffective in chronic insanity.  A\nsevere state of frenzy requiring th e patient to be chained typifies\nBelladonna.  After Belladonna has reli eved the acute problem, one\nshould look for an appropriate, long-acting constitutional remedy to\nprevent recurrence of insanity.  Aconite and Belladonna are not long-\nacting remedies.  Sometimes, the attack of madness is only short-\nlived.  However, a chronic form of  madness, despite having subsided\ntemporarily, can recur again and again.  Stramonium works for a\nmuch longer period than Belladonna.\n\nIn typhoid too, sometimes the symptoms may be similar to those of\nBelladonna.  High fever affects the mind causing delirium.\nBelladonna may temporarily relieve the symptoms, but its effect will\nnot be long lasting because typhoi d and Belladonna are not alike in\ntheir characteristics.  Stramonium is relatively more similar to typhoid\nand it works for a rela tively longer duration.  Thus, it may not only\ncontrol the delirium of typhoid, but it will also cure the typhoid.\nStramonium and Sulphur are very beneficial in mental patients,\nwhether the madness is due to typhoid or something else.  Sometimes\nan insane person is not only aggres sive but may also talk obscenely.\nThis is due to inflammation of the internal reproductive organs, and\nwill also need to be attended to.  Some people may become insane due\nto an old calamity affecting their mind, while others become insane\ndue to intense grief or a big financial loss.  Proper diagnosis of\ninsanity needs an in-depth study of the case.  Unfortunately,\nphysicians do not always have enough time to go into details and thus\nmake use of the everyday prescriptio n of Stramonium and Sulphur to\nsome benefit at least.\n\nOne peculiar feature of Belladonna is  that its fever is a continuous\none.  Once it is down, it does not recur.  On the contrary, the typhoid\nfever is high at night and relatively  low in the morning.  It returns the\nfollowing day higher than on the previous day. Sometimes it is so high\n\nthat it may even kill the patient. The Belladonna fever typically comes\ndown suddenly.  A fever that is suppressed by some strong medication\nand then recurs suddenly may very well be controlled by Belladonna.\nHowever, Belladonna is not the remedy for fevers which come on\nslowly.\n\nIn Belladonna patients, pimples and affected lymph glands show\nvisible sign of inflammation.  The throat gets swollen  suddenly due\nto severe inflammation causing di fficulty in swallowing. Belladonna\nis very useful for this condition.  A nother characteristic feature is that\nred spots form over the surface of inflamed glands.  The redness lasts\na while, and then becomes discoloured.  The joint pains are associated\nwith redness and swelling.  The red spots also appear on the joints,\nwhich later discolour, but do not lead to pus formation.\n\nBelladonna can also offer inst ant relief from a severe, acute pain of\nthe gall bladder, if the pain gets worse by application of heat.  After\nthat, Sulphur, Natrum Sulph, Lyco podium and Chelidonium can be\nused for permanent cure.\n\nBelladonna is also very useful in the colicky pain of the kidneys  in\naddition to gall bladder colic (Bi liary colic). Be lladonna along with\nAconite will work better still.  Both Belladonna and Aconite 1000\nshould be given together every ten to  fifteen minutes for two to three\ndoses.  If still ineffective and the pain seems to be getting better by\nheat, Colocynthis CM or Mag Phos  6X mixed in water should be\nadministered repeatedly.  The spasmodicity of the pain may\napparently be the same, but the constitutional difference dictates the\ntype of remedy required.\n\nSwelling is a manifestation of  Belladonna.  When Belladonna is\ncombined with Arnica for the treatment of injuries, it enhances its\neffect.  In the case of an injury, the blood is rushed to the affected part\nfor which doctors usually prescrib e cold packs. Belladonna is more\neffective than cold packs and also  fast acting. Belladonna given with\nArnica is the best initial treatment for any kind of injury. Belladonna\nailments get worse with heat but cold compresses, applied locally,\noffer relief.  If liver and the gut are inflamed, the body becomes cold.\nIn this condition, even if the patient  is of Belladonna nature, external\napplication of heat offers relief.\n\nIn Belladonna, each affected part of the body pulsates.  Sometimes the\nwhole body throbs. Belladonna will relieve any acute pain of a\nspasmodic nature with associated throbbi ng, which gets worse with\njolting and noise, and is associated with the sensation of warmth.\n\nBelladonna acts on the small circular fi bres in the walls of the blood\nvessels (veins and arteries).  Whenev er these fibres contract violently\ndue to heat, Belladonna will relieve this spas m.  Belladonna works\ninstantaneously in  spasmodic tightness of the mouth of the uterus\nat the time of labour,  provided other symptoms of Belladonna are\nalso present. Otherwise, Colophylum has the capability of relieving\nthis severe spasm.  Calcaria Ca rb is the long-term remedy for the\ndiseases of children who have in itially responded well to Belladonna.\nAny convulsions which get worse on the movement of the body or\njolting, will respond to Belladonna.\n\nOne strange feature of Belladonna is that during the illness, the patient\nfeels better by taking food.  Even if  the patient is in a state of\nmadness, he will calm down if fed.  This symptom is also found in\nPhosphorus and Psorinum.  An insane person feels hungry but he does\nnot ask for food.  If he is provided with some food his desire to eat,\nand the anguish will subside while the Phosphorus patie nt is usually\nvery hungry and feels hungry soon after having food.\n\nWhen the blood circulation towards the brain increases, the patient\nwill envision demons and ghosts.  Nightmares where objects are on\nfire disturb the patient  during sleep.  If such a patient is given\nBelladonna, he will stop dreaming about  fire.  In Belladonna, there is\na tendency of deep unconsciousness .  One pupil of the eye gets\ndilated.  This particular symptom makes it similar to Opium, however\nOpium is different from Belladonna in other symptoms.\n\nBelladonna should be th e first medicine to be given when a child has\nhigh fever affecting mostly his head, but his feet are ice cold. It is a\ndangerous situation when, during a fever, the body becomes cold but\nthe head is very hot.  The mother s may believe that the fever has\nsubsided but actually, it is the fever caused by the severity of the\ndisease.  If a proper homoeopathic remedy is administered, the body\nwill start warming up.  Otherwise, da ngerous illnesses like meningitis\nand epilepsy can develop.  In such conditions, Belladonna is one of\n\nthose remedies which will work promptly.  If the proper remedy is not\nprovided, the child may die.\n\nBelladonna will offer immediate re lief when the patient has severe\nvertigo and is restless.  This symptom is also present in Phosphorus.\nWhen there is a headache, the scalp starts hurting.  Combing the hair\nor even touching it with the hand is very bothersome.  The\nhypersensitivity of the scalp  is also found in Hepar Sulph, which is\nso saliently present that some women may actually become\nunconscious.  When there is lack of sleep due to preoccupation of\nthoughts and restlessness, Belladonna,  Coffea and Phosphorus are all\nuseful.  When the sleeplessness is due to the mental perturbance, any\nslight noise or bump against the bed becomes unbearable and the\nailment becomes aggravated at once.  In Nux Vomica also, noise\nmakes the symptoms worse. Many symptoms of Nux Vomica\nresemble those of Belladonna because Belladonna is a natural element\nof Nux Vomica.\n\nSome patients react to the treatment very slowly and will likewise\nrespond to slow acting remedies, but the patients whose symptoms\nprogress rapidly will find the faster acting remedies work better.\nSome patients are very sensitive in reacting to the treatment. In such\npatients, instead of improvi ng the patient\u2019s condition, the\nHomoeopathic remedies can actually produce the poisonous effects of\nthe substance from which they ar e derived. Whatever medicine is\ngiven, it will produce corresponding symptoms.  For this reason, one\nshould prescribe the medicine with great care and should give it in low\npotency.  At the same time, it is im portant that the hypersensitivity of\nthe patient should also be treated.\n\nThere are three possible remedies  to decrease hypersensitivity:\nBelladonna, Nux Vomica and Zincum Metallicum.  Zincum\nMetallicum is the most sensitive t ype of medication.  It can be so\nsensitive that the patient may not even tolerate a low potency.  For this\nreason, such a patient should first be given Zinc which will then make\nthe body react to other medicines in a proper way.  Zinc should be\nstarted in a low potency of 30.\n\nOne symptom of Belladonna is similar to Gelsemium.  The headache\nbecomes better when the head is tilted backwards but if the head is\ntilted forwards, it makes the headache worse, (there are certain\n\nexceptions however).  Such a patient should be treated with\nBelladonna or Gelsemium.  Many a tim e when discharges accumulate\nin the nose or in the sinuses, the headache becomes worse when the\nhead is tilted forwards.\n\nGenerally, Belladonna is a treatment of sudden short-lived illnesses.\nAn ailment which comes on suddenly will also disappear suddenly.\nBut sometimes, when the headache  disappears, it  may leave a\nheaviness of the head for many days along with the sensation of being\ntired.  In Belladonna, having the hair cut or getting the beard\nshaved can provoke headache.\n\nIn Belladonna ailments, rest brings about relief, but movement\nexaggerates the symptoms.   Most of the ailments of Belladonna start\nin the upper part of the body and migrate downwards.  When the\nheadache becomes better, the joints  and the muscles start hurting\nstarting from the upper part of the body to the lower part.  Ledum is\nfamous for the treatment of diseases that start in the lower part of the\nbody and migrate upwards.\n\nBelladonna is also very useful in the diseases of the eye. The eyes are\nunusually red, and the eyelids are swollen.  The patient experiences\nflashes of light before their eyes.  One peculiar sign is that the eyes\nremain completely dry while in Euphrasia, the eyes water in addition\nto the redness.  In Belladonna and Euphrasia, the symptoms of redness\nand the intensity are similar.  In  Euphrasia, the redness is not that\npronounced, but the eyes water a lot.\n\nBelladonna is very useful in glaucoma (the rise of pressure inside the\neye).  There was a patient who had severe glaucoma who the doctors\nhad labelled as incurable.  The patient was told that due to the high\npressure in the eye, the interior of the eye could burst open which\nmight result in permanent blindness.  The prescription that I gave to\nthe patient mainly contained Belladonna.  Surprisingly, within a week,\nthe pressure inside the eye started returning to normal and the patient\ncompletely recovered.  Gelsemium is also useful in decreasing the\nintra-ocular pressure in glaucoma.  It is better to give Calcaria Phos\n6X also.\n\nNux Vomica and Belladonna both have  the element of Cuprum and\nCuprum is one of the best remedies for convulsive states.\n\nWhen the body becomes tremulous or blood pressure rises due to\nmental irritability , Belladonna will lower the pressure very\neffectively and quickly.  The thirst associated with Belladonna\nailment resembles that of Bryonia.  The thirst is intense but is not\nrelieved by drinking wa ter.  Sometimes the patient\u2019s mouth is dry as\nin Arsenic and the patien t frequently sips water to quench his thirst.\nArsenic and Bryonia have different  symptoms of their own, but\nregarding the dryness of the mouth, all three, i.e. Bryonia, Arsenic and\nBelladonna are similar.\n\nThe women of the Belladonna type love to eat sour things.  Diarrhoea\nof Belladonna is characterized by frequent, scanty stools.\n\nIn Belladonna, the patient also develops piles. Belladonna is very\nuseful in frequent urination if it is  due to the infection of kidneys or\nthe bladder.  Otherwise, frequent urination is not a typical symptom of\nBelladonna.\n\nIf the urethra is injured by the pa ssage of broken stones due to some\nmedication, Belladonna will relieve th e inflammation of the urinary\npassage. Belladonna will also offer immediate relief of the spasms of\nthe uterus, especially if the condition worsens by heat.\n\nAt the time of delivery, Belladonna is a very good treatment if the\nbleeding becomes severe.  The trouble is mostly on the right side, and\ngets worse by heat. Belladonna can be  very useful in preventing an\nabortion or miscarriage in thos e pregnant wome n who are very\nsensitive in nature, to the extent that they cannot tolerate noise or even\nthe sound of footsteps.  The sound of cough of the Belladonna patient\nis usually very forceful. Belladonna is a temporary initial treatment\nbut if administered at the outse t of making a proper diagnosis, it\nprevents further complications.\n\nOne of the symptoms of Belladonna is cramping of the calf muscles.\nDuring a convulsion, the head is push ed backwards.  In Apis, like\nBelladonna, there is an element of excessive heat and swelling.  The\ndifference between Belladonna and Apis is that in Belladonna, the\nbody is cold except for the affected pa rt.  Therefore, the patient wants\nto be kept warm and likes to wrap himself in warm clothing.  In Apis,\nthe entire body feels burning hot, and no external heat can be\n\ntolerated.  In fact, if such a patient is made to sit close to fire, he may\ngo into a state of convulsion.\n\nIn Belladonna and Apis both, the pa tient develops urticaria due to\nexposure to heat.  This also happens in Pulsatilla.  In such a condition,\nPulsatilla and Belladonna given togeth er are useful.  Sometimes, the\nurticaria can be due to gastric ups et.  For this, Pulsatilla and Nux\nVomica are more useful.\n\nIn Belladonna, red spots  and pustules develop on the skin.  There is\nalso inflammation, as in Apis.  The appearance of pimples and\nblisters on the skin can help in diagnosis, though the presence of other\nadditional symptoms is also helpful.   Aurum Triphyllum is also very\nuseful in the treatment for urticar ia.  In Aurum Triphyllum however,\nthe itching is at the nose and around the lips.\n\nBelladonna is also related to Calcar ia Carb, especially in sub-acute\ndiseases.  Calcaria Carb proves very useful where Belladonna has\nfailed.  Sometimes the symptoms of Belladonna transform into those\nof Sulphur, which in turn produces the symptom complex of Calcaria\nCarb.  Calcaria Carb is a mee ting point of many Homoeopathic\nremedies but Sulphur should not be  administered after having given\nCalcaria Carb.  If so desired, Lycopodium will have to be given in\nbetween.  However, Calcaria Carb can  be given directly after having\nused Sulphur.\n\nBelladonna symptoms get worse on touch, jolting, noise and the\npassing of wind (emitting gas).  The patient feels better when lying\nhalf-stretched.\n\nAdjuncts: Calcaria Carb, Aconite, Sulphur\nAntidotes: Camphor, Coffea, Opium, Aconite\nPotency: 30 to CM","modalities":"","symptoms_by_system":[],"schema_version":"1.0","api_provider":"Allahshafi"}